Alternating 4-Patch Baby Quilt Tutorial

A Fair Warning:  This is an extremely long post.  In the words of my husband, "I may die of old age before reading this whole post."  Duly noted, honey.

This is the quilt top we will be making:  It's final measurements are about 33" x 41."  It's a perfect size for a baby quilt, and is something small enough that you can finish easily.

Fabric Requirements:
Theme fabric (Lions)- 1/2 yd.
Light Fabric (Circles)- 1/4 yd.
Dark Fabric (Roars)- 1/4 yd.
Inner Border (Turquoise solid)- 1/4 yd.
Outer Border (Colored Lines)- 1/2 yd.
Backing- 1 1/4 yd. (not shown, but will be the back of your quilt)
Binding (not shown, but I'll be using the same fabric as Inner Border) 1/3 yd. (for a total of 5/8 yd. if you decide to make it the same fabric as the inner border)

The Light & Dark fabrics are for the 4-patch.  A high contrast is usually recommended, so try not to use 2 light colored fabrics or 2 dark colored fabrics.  In my case, they both have a white background, but since the Roar fabric is more concentrated in color I am considering it the dark fabric while the Circles fabric is the Light Fabric.

One other tip:  I typically like to use the same fabric for the Theme Fabric & Outer Borders.  In this case I broke the rules slightly, because I wanted to use the colored stripes so much, but it's easier to buy 1 yd. of the Theme fabric for the large blocks and the outer borders.  I also would encourage staying away from fabric that reads in only one direction (such as my Roar! fabric).  It's so much easier for a beginner to not have to worry about if the fabric is upside down or not. 

Let's get started:

1- It's time to cut your light and dark fabrics.  Take your dark fabric and fold it in half, lining up the sides that have the selvages.  The selvage typically has the Fabric Line written on it and little holes punched into it.  (Make sure your mat is on a flat surface).

2- Fold it in half again, making sure that the fabric is straight and smooth.  Particularly check the fold at the bottom that it doesn't have any bunching or bubbles in it.  Align it on the grid, so that it's straight and the fold it resting evenly on one of the grid lines.

3- You are going to use your rotary cutter to trim off the uneven edges of the fabric.  I'm left-handed so my fabric pokes out to the left.  Most of you will do it the opposite of me with your right hand.  Line up your ruler with a vertical line on the grid below and above the fabric, so that it's perfectly straight, and then run your rotary cutter along the edge of the ruler (if it's new you shouldn't have to apply too much pressure to the cutter).  Make sure you're holding down on the ruler (fingers away from the edge), so that the ruler doesn't wiggle around while cutting.

4- Now that you have a smooth edge.  You are going to measure over 4 1/2" and cut a strip of fabric.  Pull the cut strip slightly away, and without moving the fabric move the ruler over another 4 1/2" and cut another strip.  When you are done you should have 2 strips of dark fabric that are 4 1/2" wide and about 42" long.

5- Take both of your strips (one at a time), and unfold the strip, so that it is now only folded in half.  Line up the top of the strip, so that it is along one of the horizontal lines on your mat.  Line up your ruler on a vertical line, so that all of the selvage is sticking out.  You are going to use your rotary cutter to cut the selvage off.

Repeat steps 1-5 for the Light fabric.

6- You should now have 2 strips of both the light and dark fabric.  Take one of the dark strips with the right side of the fabric facing up, and place a light strip on top of it, so that the right side of the fabric is facing in (the back of the fabric should be facing you).  Side note: the right side of the fabric is the side of the fabric that you want seen in your quilt that has the most color.  This means when the fabrics are on top of each other they should have the patterns (right sides of the fabric) facing each other.

7- Once they are lined up, you are going to sew along the right-side edge (1/4" seem allowance) from the top edge all the way to the bottom edge.  If you are worried about keeping them lined up feel free to pin them together down the side of the fabric.

It should look like this when you're done:  (Normally you want to choose a thread color that will blend in the best with your fabric choices.  I normally would have probably used white for this quilt, but I am using black so that you can easily see it in the pictures).

Repeat steps 6 & 7 with the last 2 strips.

8- Open up the fabric so that the right side of the fabric is facing down on the ironing board and your seam allowance is sticking up.  Press the seams of the back of the fabric toward the dark fabric for both strips.  Reminder: turn the steam function off on your iron, and there's no need to pull and tug on the fabric.  Just lightly press the seams down otherwise you might distort the fabric and change it's size.

9- Bring your 2 strips back to the cutting board.  Line up the first sewn strip, so that it is horizontally straight along the grid of your mat.  If the edges are not straight, trim of the uneven part (similar to what we did with cutting off the selvages).  Measure 4 1/2" away from the edge and cut along the edge of your vertically straight ruler.  You should have a 4 1/2" x 8 1/2" strip.

You need 12 total.  You should have some extra left over on your second strip.  Just put it to the side for now.

10- Now it's time to put our 4-patches together.  Lay out your strips so that they are opposite of each other and form 6 blocks.  Then take the strip on the right hand side and put it on top of the strip on the left hand side (right sides of the fabric facing in to each other.  See below:

You are going to be sewing down the right hand side of these blocks, so when you stack these blocks make sure they are all going the same direction, so that you don't accidentally sew the wrong side.  Keep track of which side you're sewing on as you take them to your sewing machine.  I like to place the edge that I will be sewing parallel to my machine, so that I don't get confused.

11- Before sewing it you want to make sure your seams line up down the center.  Because of the way we pressed our seams they should lock into place exactly touching each other.  This is where pins become important.  When you are happy with your seams touching, pit it in place.  I also pin the top and bottom edges together as well, so that they don't shift while I'm sewing.

11- Sew along the right side edge (remember it's always going to be a 1/4" seam allowance.

When you get to the end of the side DON'T cut the thread yet.  We are going to chain piece all of our blocks at the same time.  This means that you lift up your presser foot, pull back your block a little and then place your next block in and sew as you did before.  Once all 6 of your blocks have been sewn then you can cut off the thread.  This saves time and thread.

Take your chain of blocks to the ironing board and use sewing scissors to cut the thread in between each block.

12-  Press the seams open on all of your blocks.  This will reduce bulk and help your blocks lay flatter.  Congratulations - you just completed the 4-patch block!!

 13- Measure your blocks on your cutting board.  They should be 8 1/2" x 8 1/2."  If they are smaller than this don't panic.  Cut all of your blocks down to the size of your smallest block, and then cut your theme blocks the same size.  No one will ever know. :) (This is why I didn't have you cut the themed fabric until now!)

14-  Using the same techniques we used in Steps 1-5 we're now going to cut 2 strips of themed fabric that are 8 1/2" wide.  Once you have the 2 strips cut, you are going to cut off the selvages and then without moving the fabric, move the ruler over 8 1/2" and cut.  It should form an 8 1/2" square.  You need a total of 6 blocks (3 cuts since the fabric is folded in half).  You will have extra on your second strip.  Put it aside for now. 

15- Lay out the patches alternating back and forth between a theme block and a four-patch block.  You will have 4 rows of 3 blocks.  We are going to assemble the blocks within each row together first.  Take the blocks in the middle and lay them right side down onto the blocks to their left.

Remember that you are sewing down the right side of the block, so keep track of that side as you stack the 4 rows and take them to your machine.

16- Once again, you are going to chain piece these blocks.  Don't forget to line them up (right sides facing each other) and pin if desired.  Once all 4 sets of blocks are sewn, cut your thread and this time you are going to press your seams toward the themed fabric.

17- Lay your blocks back out, and repeat the process by taking the block on the right and placing it on top (right side of fabric facing down) of the middle block.  See below:

Chain piece them again and press seams toward the themed fabric.

18- Now we're going to sew the rows together.   Take the 4th row and flip it up onto the 3rd row (so that it's upside down and right side is facing in), and also flip the 2nd row up onto the 1st row.  You will be sewing along the bottom edge.  See below:

This is where pinning is really important.  You want line up the center blocks with seams interlocking so that they touch each other (just like when you lined up the 4-patch seams) and pin in place on both ends of the middle block.I would also pin the top edge and bottom edge.

Sew down the entire bottom edge, and then press the seams open.

When you open it up and look at your rows, if you pinned it correctly the corners of the blocks should line up.  See below:


19- You're almost done with the center of your quilt.  All you need to do is flip the bottom half up onto the top half (it will be upside down and ride sides facing each other).  Pin, sew and press the same as you did in step 18.

Yay!  The center of your quilt is completed!  Now all we need to do is add our borders and our quilt top is done.

20- Using the cutting techniques you learned in steps 1-5 you are going to cut out strips for the inner and outer border.

You will need 4 strips that are 1 1/2" wide each from your inner border fabric & 4 strips that are 4" wide from your outer border fabric.

21- You are going to sew a strip of the inner border along the right and left sides of the quilt first.  The right sides of the fabric should be facing each other, so you will see the quilt top facing up at you.  (If you have a solid colored fabric look closely to see if there is a right side to the fabric.  Sometimes it doesn't matter which side you use).

You will have fabric left over off the edge.  Using either sewing scissors or your rotary cutter you will need to trim the border fabric to be even with the other fabric.

Press the seams toward the border. 








It should look like this when you're done:

22- Repeat this same process when adding the inner border on the top and bottom of the quilt.


23- Adding the outer borders is done the same exact way we just added the inner borders.  See steps 21 & 22 if you have any questions.  Remember to press the seams toward the outer border.

 Congratulations - you just completed your first quilt top!  I will post the next step on how to layer it together and top stitch the quilt.  In the meantime, give yourself a big pat on the back and enjoy the rest of your week.

Quilting Basics

I'm so excited to be teaching a Beginners Quilting class next week at church.  It's geared toward the person who has always wanted to make a quilt but is overwhelmed and doesn't know where to begin.  I'm going to post a couple of beginning tutorials over the next couple of days, but first I thought I would give some basic tips for starting the quilting process.

The first thing you're going to need are some basic tools:

Rotary Cutting Mat

Rotary Cutter (either the 45mm or 60mm will work--it’s just personal preference; the one shown here is 60mm)

Ruler (there are tons of rulers out there, but the most basic sewing ruler tends to be 18”x 3”)

Sewing Scissors (used for cutting threads)

Sewing Machine (any old machine will do)

Ironing Board & Iron (steam function should be off & heat should be set for Cotton fabrics)

Sewing Pins (if desired)

(You really should never have to pay full price for these items; sign up for JoAnns coupons--you can use as many of their coupons at one time as you want.  You can also go online and print off the 40% Hobby Lobby coupon that's on their website.  Even a lot of Wal-Marts carry these supplies for cheap if you don’t have any coupons.) 

Choosing Fabrics:

Make sure any and all fabric you buy is 100% Cotton.  This rule can be broken later on in the game, but as a beginner, it’s very important that you are working with all of the same type of fabric for ease of sewing.  

When choosing fabrics it’s all about personal taste, but there are a few things that can really help you choose fabrics that will work well together.   Here’s a link that gives some tips for what to choose, and Pile o' Fabric also had a great explanation of use of the color wheel if you're interested.

A couple of things to ask yourself when putting fabrics together:

·      Are the fabrics too busy all together?  If the answer is yes, try swapping out one of the patterned fabrics for a solid fabric that matches the other fabrics.

·      Is a larger print fabric ideal for the block I am sewing?  (If your block has a lot of little sections a smaller print would probably be better)

·      Do you want a high contrast with the fabrics or do you want a subtle color scheme (same colors but different shades along the spectrum)?

·      Do you know how much fabric you need?  It’s better to get a little extra than be stranded when you don’t have enough.  Make sure you calculate how much you need beforehand if possible (and maybe round up in case of mistakes, miscalculations, or a mistaken pattern).

 

Everyone has a different process for how they pick out fabric.  Sometimes I see a fabric that I absolutely love and then find other fabrics that compliment it.  For example, I saw these 2 cupcakes fabrics and just had to have them.  I knew I needed a third fabric that went with them, so I found this one:

Notice it shares the majority of the colors from the other 2 fabrics, but has a different background color.  Now for the borders of the quilt, I'll find a solid color fabric to use; I'll probably use the hot pink color, because it's an accent color in the fabrics that isn't used as a background color in any of the other 3 fabrics I've already chosen.  

Sometimes I buy fabrics that are all from the same line of fabric that are meant to be used together.  Take these fabrics for example, they're all from Robert Kaufman's Roar! series.  I'll probably add a solid fabric to connect the fabrics together, but all of the fabrics match each other without me having to think too much about it.

And sometimes, I just randomly come up with a combination that I like--you get better at it the more you do it.  Also, it never hurts to hop on Flickr, quilting blogs, or even do a google images search and take a look at lots of quilts.  You’ll quickly see what you personally like and don’t like.

Some things to think about:

Now that you have you're fabric--"to wash or not to wash, that is the question."  There are quite a few strong opinions out there about whether or not to wash your fabric before you quilt with it.  I’ll let you decide, but just remember if you wash one fabric, they all need to be washed.  I tend to definitely wash fabrics that I know have a risk of bleeding (such as red or other deep colors).  Make sure that before cutting your fabrics and after washing them, you iron them just before they've completely dried.  You need the fabric completely flat and ironed in order to accurately measure and cut.  Sometimes though it is definitely easier to not wash any of your fabrics--they are crisper and easier to work with then.  You decide what works best for you. 

There's one last thing to check before you start quilting:

All "seam allowances" (the distance from the thread line to the edge of the fabric) for quilting are always ¼ inch unless otherwise noted.  First, check your machine for a pre-programmed stitch that sews ¼ inch away from the edge of the fabric.  (Keep in mind that different pre-programmed stiches will move your needle slightly to the right or the left based on the idiosyncrasies of that stitch).  Measure on your machine ¼ inch out to the right from the point where the needle comes down to the edge of the foot to make sure it’s a true ¼ inch.   I’ve seen some people actually mark their machine with masking tape at the ¼” spot to use as a guideline. 

It's not the greatest picture, but do you notice how a ¼” from the needle does not go all the way to the edge of the metal plate on my machine?  That means that if I line up all of my fabric to the edge of the plate, my blocks will all come out small.  I have to align mine with the feeders to get it the right size.  So make sure you measure on your machine to find the true ¼” 

Are you ready to quilt????  If you have any questions please, please ask!!  The first tutorial will be up on Monday. :)